Advocacy
by homozyghost
Summary: They were getting tired. Tired of making mistakes, tired of making things more difficult than it was supposed to be. The blame was put on no one because blaming each other was already behind them. But God, it's been 12 years. And they were so tired of failing. They just want to go back to their own world, how the hell was that so hard to do?
1. Chapter 1

_Prologue : Advocates_

* * *

Three men were seen in a bar.

They were not at all similar to each other, two being taller than their companion, a blonde haired grump with a constant glare in his green eyes. He was nursing a mug of ale as he pondered, eyebrows furrowing towards no one in particular.

The other one in the group seemed to be the complete opposite- Green eyes aside, his brown hair appeared to be glowing under the harsh light of the bar. He himself was drinking a bottle of beer, smiling despite not liking the drink he had ordered. The bar has limited options; He could understand that. Between two drinks, he'd rather choose one that wasn't the same as his anyway. He nodded off handedly to the person on his right who was quite literally talking his ears off, gulping down his beverage everytime he felt sleep crawling over him.

"-o I was thinking that maybe, I could just jump right in rather than wait." The last of the three was tall compared to them despite his youthful exuberance. He wasn't at all young though, all of them were old in their own way. His light blonde hair did nothing to lessen his intimidating stature, and the axe strapped to his back only served to heighten the effect. A mug of beer was placed on the counter in front of him, untouched.

The dusty pub came to life when the entrance doors swung open to give path to a motley crew. Their objective was the same though, as any pirate entering a bar. A hush fell over several tables as they sauntered in, their rambunctious attitude following them in volume. The captain, or what seemed to be the captain, stepped up to the bartender and slammed his fist onto the counter separating them. He had a menacing grin on his face and the bartender squeaked in fright.

"Give us the strongest one you've got," he said without any sort of introduction. "Me and the boys got bounties now, y'see, so it's some kind of a congratulations thing. Better hop to it- We're not exactly... patient." The deviant said it with his hand on his gun, clicking off the safety to make it all the more threatening. The bartender gulped, paling significantly but he managed to plaster a wide smile on his lips.

"R-right away, sir!" The man spluttered. He abandoned everything he was doing before and disappeared to the back of the pub.

Satisfied, the captain shifted his attention to the short blonde man sitting at the bar near him. He didn't react at all to the pirates' entrance- Something the captain deemed unacceptable. He wasted no time addressing the man then, a growl in his voice. "You there, with huge eyebrows."

No response. The blonde sat vigil in his seat, continuing to drink his ale without so much as a flinch. The customers in the pub held their breath as they looked on, silently preparing themselves for the oncoming brawl. They were regular witnesses to these kind of bar fights- It was common for the citizens of this town. The two at the blonde's side stopped their inane conversation and spared the pirate a glance.

"Did you not hear me? Hey," the captain closed their distance and brandished his weapon to the man's head. The onlookers around them stared unabashedly when the victim didn't react at all, simply sipping his drink as if he wasn't held at gunpoint. "I'm talking to you, bastard!"

Slowly, the man put down his mug and fixed a glare at the captain. His eyes were a piercing forest green, looking at the captain as if he were a specimen. The pirate felt inferior under his gaze but his gun did not waver. It was reached out by the man however, and before he knew it, his gun was under the hold of the blonde, who was then fully turned towards him. His posture was relaxed. The blonde frowned.

"This is rude," he simply stated, garnering a snort from his two companions. The captain felt his anger rise, and he attempted to pull the gun out of the man's grip. It didn't budge.

"The hell?! Don't you know who I am? I'm the great captain Duran of the Duran Pirates! I'm worth 11 Million Beli, you insolent brat!"

That earned him a twitch from the blonde and the captain relished on it instantly. "What's the matter?" He questioned with confidence, a smirk on his face as if he didn't feel the grip on his gun tightening. "Cat got your tongue, boy? Can't even talk now, can ya-?!"

He was pulled down to the other's height. His sense of inferiority intensified as he met the blonde's eyes, an apathetic mercy under the light.

"11 Million?" The man said in mocked wonder before he glared. "I don't bother myself to check bounties of mere cannon fodder."

The captain held his breath, as if breathing would disrupt the moment and doom him of any chance in living. His cowardice did not rob him of his ability to speak, sadly, and he replied. "C-cannon fodder?! I'll have you dead, you son of a-"

"Cap- Captain! Bad news!"

"HAH?!" The captain turned to his subordinate with a glower, his anger reaching a sense of panic. "CAN'T YOU SEE I'M BUSY HERE?!"

"Th- That man, he's a marine! A high ranking one! He's-!"

A shot of a bullet to the pirate's feet made him shriek, and the captain looked back to see his gun twisted to point at his crew. He gulped, slowly looking back towards the now affirmed marine.

"Good god, if you're that desperate to get arrested, you could've just said so." The blonde scowled.

Before he knew it, the captain found himself subdued- both arms held to his back and his own gun to his head. He groaned in pain, his face pressed to the floor. He cursed his crew when he heard screaming, followed by the shut of the doors- Cowards, the lot of them! The marine who had him subdued shared his sentiments then, by snorting haughtily.

"Even your shipmates abandoned you, like the pathetic lot they are. Though I guess it was expected, seeing as his captain's an arrogant prick." The gun was pressed deep into his head, and the captain froze only to flap his mouth.

"I-I-I-I- I was lying! I'm not worth anything- I've no bounty! E-e- 11 Million? There's no way I'm worth th-that much, so please-"

The safety clicked off. The pirate paled. The silence was more prominent in that moment, and the captain just knew that the room was empty except them.

"Let you go? You've caught me in a bad mood so, I don't think I want to. Antonio," the marine addressed his companion.

"Hm?"

"What do you reckon we should do with this bloke?"

"You're the marine, Inglaterra. Arrest him, I guess?"

The marine scoffed and stared down at the captain, who by now felt like he just soiled himself. "Sounds like the lawful thing to do. You know I'm a pirate at heart, Antonio, thats just too far off than what I like to do best."

Antonio shrugged, uncaring. "Kill him then."

"Better," England sighed, his finger already on the trigger. He dragged this farce for too long already. He leaned in close to the captain's ear then, a sneer on his lips. "Listen here, you don't _get_ to call me a brat.

I'm centuries older than you _, boy._ "

* * *

The bartender cautiously peered from behind the back door, searching for anyone who stayed after an hour since the first sound of gunshot. He calmed his heart down when he saw no one, and this prompted him to open the door fully. He walked to his rightful place behind the bar and hesitantly took the money on the bar, eyes still wandering around. Two mugs were empty on the counter, one untouched and full of beer.

Pocketing the money into his apron, he stepped out from behind the bar and ruefully readied himself to clean up any mess the scuffle left behind. He sighed, but then his breath hitched when his saw a figure on the floor of his pub, prone and unmoving. His heartbeat calmed.

The bartender rushed to find his den den mushi. Reporting this was also a regular thing after all. As he rushed back to the back of the pub, wanted posters fluttered lightly in its position on the wall. Only two posters were noteworthy though, as they were of two individuals- Two pirate rookies who have recently went seaward.

Antonio and Mathias were their names, both of them of different crews. Antonio was a man with brilliant green eyes, with brown hair that appeared to be glowing under the harsh light of the place the picture was taken. He wasn't smiling at the picture, but to anyone who was there when he declared himself a pirate knew that he enjoyed the rush of fighting.

A battle axe was swung in the photo, mirroring Mathias' picture. He evoked more emotion in his however, as he seemed to be laughing when the picture was taken. His eyes were alight with joy, betraying any kind of malice the label 'pirate' promised him. Despite his youthful exuberance, the axe he held did nothing to lessen the sheer madness the picture portrayed.

A newspaper was placed on the counter near the wanted posters pinned on the wall, it's front headlines flashy and unavoidable to read. _ALABASTA IN PERIL? DANCE POWDER FOUND_ , it read, but what was important was the small article at the corner of the page-

The one that clearly stated the capture of both Antonio and Mathias by the ever elusive Captain Arthur Kirkland.

* * *

 **A/N: I need some ideas to continue this so it would really help me a lot if someone can help me with that. Main objective is the usual thing though- Getting them back to their world.**

 **Anywaysies, this was just a small idea of mine and I have nothing to go on from here. Thoughts? Questions? Hit me up.**


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 1 : Timescale_

* * *

"T-they what?"

Arthur sipped on his tea, calm as the sea their ship sailed on. "Escaped. Left. I don't really see what's so hard to understand about it, the whole thing's quite simple really."

"But you're Captain Kirkland!" The marine shouted in disbelief, before blushing profusely as if embarrassed by himself. "...S-sir." He amended sheepishly.

Arthur sighed, gently setting down his cup and saucer to the table. He and his... subordinate? Fellow marine? Were sitting out on deck with a foldable table and chair, both of which had formed Arthur's happy place during his employment. An umbrella connected to the table shaded the sun from obstructing his view, and Arthur could see the expanse of the sky and sea around him. It was a beautiful sight, no doubt. The predicament he found himself in was what had ruined the moment.

Arthur Kirkland. Recruited into the Marines at the age of 20 almost exactly 3 years ago when found fighting against a local pirate who was terrorizing Feltor island in West Blue. He was reverred by the townspeople as their protector for the one year he stayed on the small island, thus garnering the attention of Vice Admiral Momonga who had been there for restocking. Known for his proficiency in swordfighting, Kirkland immediately rose up the ranks, becoming the fastest rising marine in its history. He gradually became an example for young marine recruits all over the four blues, and they were quick to idolise him in retaliation.

And that was the problem, wasn't it?

"My reputation overestimates me, lad. Even I'm not exempted from making mistakes." Arthur fiddled absently with the handle of his teacup, staring into its emptiness.

The other blinked, then "Oh," he smiled awkwardly. "With the way you were saying it, I thought you meant to let them go."

Arthur snorted derisively, grabbing the teapot for another fill. "Ridiculous. A failure in a mission does not equal mutiny. They were simply more slippery than any of the other snakes I've caught is all. Also," he frowned then, his frustration clear on his face, "they're rookies. How was I supposed to know what they're good at?"

"A good point, sir. You'll catch them next time." A nod, then silence fell over them. They stared at the sea once more, taking in the sight. However, the moment was crushed again by a question from the young marine.

"Antonio and Mathias..." He made a show of taking off his cap and brushing his hair back, and putting it on again firmly. His eyes darted to the side. "Were they as strong as we think they are?"

Arthur answered with zero hesitation. "No. The top brass just likes to make a big deal out of upstarts like them to crush them early. Where they lack in strength, they made up with skill. That's how they got out of their cells, you see." The lie rolled easily on his tongue, useful in all the years of its use. He sipped his tea again, relieved at how the other believed his words so quickly as he nodded.

Arthur Kirkland knew the truth, however.

He was the one who let them escape. Hell, he hung out with them afterwards for a break at a pub, his career be damned. Of course, not all was without reason- He only captured them to make talking with them seem natural. It wouldn't do for a marine captain to talk with pirates after all, and he knew headquarters have eyes on every side. If they had to have a talk, it would be with bars separating them.

It wasn't really a talk more than it was a warning for them both. Antonio and Mathias- while they went on different paths- had raised chaos wherever they were, so Arthur took it upon himself to grab them by their ears and scold them until his voice went hoarse. God, it was like dealing with kids.

They had to lay low for god's sakes. They have to understand that.

It wouldn't do for them to slip up after all these years after all, hell no.

Then they drank a whole lot, killed a pirate in a pub and slept drifting off at sea for the rest of the night until Arthur had enough sense to return to his duty at sunrise.

And so here he was.

"Captain?"

"Hm?" Arthur broke out of his musings and stopped drinking. The blonde eyed the boy with no more than his usual calm demeanor; Poised and placid.

The other made enough hand gestures to show Arthur that he was restless at all times, unable to keep still and quiet. He looked more tense now however as he kept looking past Arthur. "Pirates at 1 o'clock."

Ah. Of course.

Arthur simply nodded, put his tea set to the side and stood. He supposed he could get some sort of respite from doing marine work by letting himself loose in fighting.

Thank god for lawful murder.

* * *

Marco flipped open the newspaper with a lazy gaze, one hand holding his mug of coffee on the table. As he read the news, the morning buzzed around him in a cacophony of noises- He could hear Thatch screaming about the lack of potatoes in the kitchen, his siblings' laughs and groans due to hangovers from one drink too many. His lips curled into a smile and he started his day with a happy note.

There wasn't really anything interesting going on with the world today. Despite Alabasta's apparent mutiny from their own King yesterday, media decided to not drag that on and instead focus more on the most mundane thing on the seas. Like another island getting ransacked by a rogue pirate crew, a celestial dragon's visit to Sabaody Archipelago (as if they don't do that everyday), some guy named Morgan getting a promotion because he caught a rookie pirate...

Marco drank the last drop of coffee in his mug, folded the newspaper and stood up, handing over the thing to his captain who was sitting nearby.

Whitebeard took it with a nod, flipping through it himself. "Anything interesting going on today, son?"

His tone was relaxed but inquisitive, and Marco decided to refill his mug with another round of coffee. "Nothing besides the usual. Islands getting destroyed, upstarts in both Marines and pirates." Marco sat down in his previous seat and made himself comfortable, leaning on his hand with his elbow on the table. "It's nice to see nothing big happening for a while."

Whitebeard's eyes narrowed, searching for any mention of his old friend in the newspaper. "No news on Cobra?" He asked.

"Nah, seems like they dropped it in a day. Maybe a government coverage thing, but I'm sure it's fine. Alabasta's a strong country."

Whitebeard smiled, worries dissipating in an instant with his son's assurance. "I hope so. There's a lot of young'uns setting out too."

"Right," Marco stared up at the ceiling in a daze to remember. "Fiero, Kailin the Emperor- as he called himself," he scoffed derisively. "Portgas D. Ace, Antonio, the Viking-? And Pietra. All of them are rookies, but eh, the potential's there, yoi."

Whitebeard mulled over the names for only a little while before shrugging, opting to just take a swig of his alcohol as reply. Marco nodded as if he understood, mimicking his father's movement. "They've got a long way to go, either way. We'll see how they'll turn out once they pass the Grand Line." Marco grinned at his father. "I say a recruitment is afoot."

"Gurararara! To new sons!" He raised his barrel sized mug high in glee, prompting his crew to do the same even though they didn't really know the context of the situation.

"AYE!"

* * *

 **A/N: So basically, this is just a chapter to let y'all know when this story takes place.**

 **I figured if I used empty spaces One Piece didn't cover- in this case, the period after a few months Ace left Dawn Island, which the story didn't have a lot of beef on- I'd have more freedom in writing some fun stuffs.**

 **Heads up y'all; This fic's a drabble-esque kinda fic. (Thanks for the idea, Elements08!) Some have plots, and on its own can be one story but the vein's still the same. End point will probably be a plot filled one though. We'll see.**

 **Adios now, people! A great day/night awaits ya.**


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 2 : Camaraderie_

* * *

Ace was bored.

He was strolling through the town, you see, when he realized that his crew had taken care of everything already and there was really nothing to be done. Masked Deuce had taken care of their medical supplies, Skull collected information and his trusty sniper had volunteered on keeping lookout for any chaos his crewmates might've made. Ace didn't want to watch the ship, so he assigned someone else to do it and now here he was.

And Ace was bored as _hell_.

He contemplated whether to just hang around with his crew- snatching up an apple from a fruit stand as he thought this, when said apple flew out of his hands and onto the ground before he could even take a bite. Apparently someone had bumped into his shoulder.

Because of Ace's polite nature, Ace immediately swiveled around on his heels and glared at the mass of people behind him, trying to find who exactly he needed to pick a fight with.

And there was a dude running, obviously in a rush, making Ace's job easy.

"Hey! Hey, you there- Oof, excuse me," the crowd around him was well practiced in pushing people around and Ace had a lot of trouble with that. He wondered why he became polite in the first place before pushing back, apologies already spewing out of his mouth. Once he broke out of the crowd- damnable, cursed, and all things bad- He saw the man again, still rushing as he dashed around the alley.

This wasn't even about the apple anymore. Ace had nothing to do and since he followed him this far already, he might as well continue. Besides, the man was intriguing. Why was he rushing about like that? What was there to run from?

Ace mimicked the blonde's actions and turned around the corner.

There was a flaming hole in his face now because of the dagger the man carried and Ace immediately stepped back in surprise. "Huh," he uttered dumbly, rubbing his face after he backed off from the blade. " Why'd you do _that_ for?"

"A logia?" The man piped up, none the wiser. Now that Ace had a good look at him, the man looked weirdly familiar with his awfully blue eyes and pale blonde hair. Even the axe was something he saw before. He just couldn't quite remember...

The man shook his head and pointed the dagger again. "Why did you follow me?"

"Why were you running?"

Ace watched as the man splutter in indignition, before saying, "Because you were following me? What else?"

"I followed you cause I was bored. You were running, so I wondered what was up."

The man raised his eyebrows in surprise and said, "oh," as if he really understood where Ace was coming from. "I was just jogging."

"Jogging?"

Ace looked at the man up and down. A white tank top, some kind of long jacket thing tied around his waist, followed by khaki pants and military boots. In the man's defense, he had evidence to prove that. In Ace's defense however, he was still bored and really, boredom was what made him continue to talk with this guy.

"What's with the dagger then?"

"Pirate," he replied jovially, twirling his dagger just because he can. Ace's mind clicked in that moment, when he sees the man's grin, the colour of his jacket thing around his waist and that battle axe.

Ace blinked a few times. "You're the Viking," he said. He remembered Skull raving about last night's wanted posters, the way he demanded Ace's attention to listen to his mindless chatter about pirates and how great they were. The Viking was on one of the wanted posters he had the grace of paying attention to, only because how young the man seemed to be. Just like him.

"Oh, you've heard of me?" The Viking laughed, exuberant and loud, and he walked up to Ace, solidly patting the logia's shoulder- and by god, how did he do that- as he lead them out of the alley. Ace walked along just because, feeling a tad bit uncomfortable with how touchy-friendly the guy was being.

And also, this guy was _tall_.

"Always nice to meet a fan," the Viking smiled.

Ace frowned. "Nah man, I'm a pirate too. Gotta know who my enemies are, y'know."

"Enemies?" He said that almost incredulously. Ace saw the child like innocence then, in the way he seemed to purse his lips in thought. Ironic, considering his epithet. "You want to be enemies?"

"Not necessarily..."

"Then we're friends for now!" The blonde snatched up two apples from a fruit stand nearby and Ace marvelled at how he declared it so easily. It reminded him of Luffy, somehow. The man tossed an apple to him, as if it was his form of apology for knocking the one he had then, and grinned. "Of course, if you promise to not attack my crew. I'll hunt you down if you do."

That snapped Ace's comparison of this guy to Luffy, and he grinned, equally as primal. "Took the words right outta my mouth."

After all, the word 'friend' was vulnerable; flimsy and easy to throw about. Ace had a feeling it was the same for this guy too.

He wouldn't be fooled that easily.

* * *

Ace was fooled into thinking he wasn't fooled, when in reality there was nothing to be fooled about.

The Viking- Mathias Køhler, he learned- was stupidly easy going and carefree. Ace still can't believe the man poured out all of his life's troubles as soon as they hit the beer, but Mathias _just did_ , and Ace could only process that.

"And then I told him no, we're not going to pick up the dog and you know what he did? Picked up the dog! I mean, I get where he's coming from- the dog's cute as hell, but now we have a dog on our damned ship and we have to take care of her and that's all fine, you know, cause we love her to bits-"

That's definitely a weakness, Ace sweatdropped, his face stuffed in food as he partially listened to Mathias' ramblings. He was referring to the dog, but he guessed loose lips could count as a weakness too. "Huh," he exclaimed between mouthfuls, trying to offer the blonde a semblance of sympathy. "I guess- gulp- my crew's not that bad compared to yours." He wiped his face and pushed his empty plate aside towards the mountain of more empty plates he had created. "At least they listen to what I say."

"Oh, right, you're a pirate too!" Mathias shot up from his slumped position on the table, and looked at Ace in honest curiosity. "I've never seen you before though; What's your crew called?"

Ace just knew he didn't mean it in an offensive way, so he replied with as much pride as he could muster. "The Spades pirates. Built it by myself from the ground up." He smiled at his own words because he really did treasure his crew. If he had to be sappy about it, he might have called them his second family.

"You're real proud of 'em, huh?"

"Of course I am; Wouldn't be a good captain if I ain't."

Mathias laughed then, amused. "Hah! I like you, Ace. You got fire in you, zest. Reminds me of someone I know."

If someone meant _multiple nations_. Mathias knew how they tend to be awfully proud of their own people sometimes.

"Fire, huh. Well, they don't call me Fire Fist for nothing." Ace lit up the tips of his fingers them, wiggling them in front of Mathias and grinning. The blonde chuckled, eyes transfixed on the subtle glow of the fire.

"Terrifying name for someone like you."

"Hey!" Ace snuffed his flames out and glared at Mathias half-heartedly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Mathias smiled. "Nothing, nothing. We're all young pirates here after all; But I guess the epithet's determined by power, not age."

Ace downed his second round of sake, licking his lips thoughtfully. "The Viking..." He glanced at his friend. "Where'd they get that one from?"

"Forced 'em to call me that."

Ace chortled, laughing on his drink. "Of course you did."

A comfortable silence fell over them. Ace surprisingly didn't mind the company- At least he wasn't alone at the bar by himself. He leaned against his chair in a languid manner, mug in his hand as he glanced again at his new found friend.

 _Friend_.

God, what a concept.

Ace guessed they were friends now. He managed to be tolerable, so that's good. Outside of his crew, Ace didn't really have that much friends, convinced that his crew was enough and he didn't need anyone else, please and thank you. Besides, the term friend was so... personal. He considered Luffy and Sabo friends once, before he had the brilliant idea of calling them his brothers. His crew members were... Well, he considered a select few his friends and most of them were, well, subordinates. But they were treasured all the same. They were of the same crew after all.

To have someone out of his brothers and crew as a friend was an idea so foreign to Ace, so excuse him if he's having a hard time processing it all.

"It's nearly dark outside," Mathias' voice cut through his line of thoughts, and Ace jolted from his stupor. The blonde got out of his seat. "Gotta go before my crew worry their heads over me. They said to come back before the sun's away, you see."

Ace smiled like a silly loon, almost delighted at the information he was given. "You basically have _curfew_!"

The blonde snorted, "Oh, shut up. Like you don't have anyone searching for you right now."

"I don't-"

"Ace!"

Someone- most likely Deuce, that worrywart- was outside of the bar, shouting for him without any shame. Ace's cheeks coloured as Mathias shot a knowing grin. "Told'ja."

Ace shook his head and stood up, holding out his hand to the other. "Got me there. Meet ya some other time?"

Mathias shook Ace's hand, smile not lost. "Of course. Wouldn't want to miss out on a spar."

"Bet I could beat you in seconds."

"Bet you'll set your shirt on fire before we even fight."

"Bet you that's not gonna happen-"

" _ACE!_ "

"Right," the rookie pirate let go of Mathias' hand, patted the blonde's shoulder and waved at him as he rushed out. "See ya!"

"See ya too- Oh my god."

Mathias pulled a grimace when he turned towards the table, when he found himself staring at stacks upon stacks of empty plates. He also found himself chuckling afterwards, albeit nervously as he fished out his wallet.

"That bastard."

* * *

 **A/N: They've met! And also; Masked Deuce and Skull are not my OCs- They're part of Ace's crew before the Whitebeards, apparently. Check 'em out on wiki! They look hella cool.**

 **Ciao! Don't sleep too late.**


End file.
